ALBANY - Gov. David Paterson is proposing legislation he said could save New Yorkers as much as $50 million by consolidating different functions of local municipalities (including specific recommendations for cost savings in Cayuga County.)

The Commission on Local Government Efficiency, formed last year by former Gov. Eliot Spitzer, released a final report Wednesday to Paterson. The commission's goal was finding ways to reduce the number of local government entities - now more than 4,200 - to help rein in property taxes, which are among the highest in the nation.

It's an ambitious undertaking that New York politicians have been attempting for decades - but it faces strong opposition from the unions that profit from the growth of government and duplicated services.

“We recognize that this has been tried before,” Paterson said. “But we are in an economic time that may be unparalleled.”

The commission's ideas include consolidating school districts and centralizing local government functions, like tax collection, emergency dispatch, civil service and records offices. They also recommend moving New York toward a single, state-run jail system and to consolidate “special districts” with separate commissioners who handle water, sewer and garbage services.

The state AFL-CIO and the Civil Service Employee Association quickly rejected the commission's recommendations.

“The report unfortunately presents a one-sided point of view on how local governments can achieve cost savings in New York state,” AFL-CIO President Denis Hughes said in a written statement.

But many politicians have said consolidation is crucial to trimming the tax burden.

“Right now, property taxes in New York state is the number one issue,” said Sen. Betty Little, a Warren County Republican.

“County officials consider property taxes the most important challenge facing state and local government,” said Stephen Acquario, executive director of the New York State Association of Counties. “Collectively, we should reduce the property tax burden ... this cannot be accomplished when the policies and directives that come from Albany call for more costly programs that must be funded with local property taxes.”

Local initiatives for Cayuga County

• Exploring consolidation of assessment at the county level

• Exploring potential to unify tax collection activities at the county level

• Exploring creation of a unified fire authority that would include the county, city of Auburn, and surrounding towns

• Considering consolidation of services provided to the county, city of Auburn, and surrounding towns